New beginning: Billionaire love story (Claire and Alex) novel Chapter 229

Lisa sat in her hospital bed, poking at the bland, tasteless food on her tray while half-watching some mindless reality TV show. She still couldn’t believe she’d been transferred to a VIP room. The luxury upgrade was nice, but it had come out of nowhere. She had a sneaking suspicion that Alex was behind it, probably as a thank-you for saving Claire. Not that Lisa was complaining—she might as well enjoy the perks while she could.

Just as she was about to change the channel, the door to her room burst open, and in walked her mother, looking like she’d aged a decade in worry.

“Lisa!” her mother exclaimed, rushing to her side. “Are you okay? I heard about the fire! I was so worried!”

Lisa rolled her eyes and popped another piece of fruit into her mouth. “I’m fine, Mum,” she replied, her voice dripping with boredom. “Nothing to freak out about.”

Her mother’s brow furrowed as she leaned in closer. “Are you still mad at me? Is that what this is about? You’re still upset about our fight?”

Lisa turned to her mother, her expression turning icy. “You mean the fight where you left me to rot in jail and didn’t even lift a finger to help? Yeah, I might still be a little mad about that.”

Her mother sighed, frustration etched into her features. “Lisa, I told you, that was your fault. The whole plan went haywire because you decided to pull that stupid suicide stunt! What were you thinking?”

Lisa scoffed, her attention drifting back to the TV. “Whatever, Mum. You always have an excuse.”

“It’s not an excuse!” her mother shot back, her voice rising. “You don’t understand how tight money is! I couldn’t bail you out even if I wanted to! And honestly, you brought that mess on yourself.”

“Yeah, well,” Lisa muttered, keeping her eyes glued to the screen, “I’m not interested in your lectures right now.”

The room fell into an uncomfortable silence, broken only by the faint sounds of the TV. Lisa’s mother stood there for a moment, looking like she wanted to say more, but in the end, she just shook her head and left the room.

The next morning, Claire was already back at the office, much to Matthew’s dismay. He had practically begged her to stay home and rest, but Claire had too much on her plate to take it easy. Sure, she had almost died from poison a few days ago, and just yesterday, she was nearly roasted in a fire, but that wasn’t going to stop her from handling business.

As she sat at her desk, Claire couldn’t help but let her mind wander. The timing of the fire was too suspicious to ignore. It had to be connected to the person who had tried to kill her. But every time she tried to piece it together, her head started to pound, and she quickly decided to shove the thoughts aside. She had more pressing matters to deal with right now.

She opened her laptop and started going through her emails. The usual pile of messages greeted her, but one, in particular, caught her eye. As she read it, her heart sank.

The Japanese robotics company she had been in talks with had changed their mind. They were pulling out of the partnership with Metacortex.

“Great,” Claire muttered under her breath. “Just what I needed.”

Claire leaned back in her chair, frustration bubbling just beneath the surface. She had dealt with her fair share of setbacks, but today seemed to be a never-ending stream of them. With a sigh, she picked up her phone and dialed Sandra’s extension.

“Sandra, could you come to my office?” Claire asked, trying to keep her voice steady.

Sandra walked in a moment later, a look of concern on her face. “Is everything okay? Do you need something?”

“Yeah, unfortunately,” Claire said, rubbing her temples. “The Japanese robotics company we were counting on just bailed. They don’t want to partner up with Metacortex anymore.”

Sandra’s eyes widened slightly. “What? Why?”